Judgment 2902
108th Session, 2010
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 16
Extract:
"The Tribunal finds that by any standards a delay of nearly 19 months to complete the internal appeal process is unreasonable."
Keywords:
abolition of post; compensation; internal appeal; non-renewal of contract; project personnel; reasonable time; reorganisation; time limit;
Considerations 6, 8 and 10
Extract:
The complainant impugns the decision not to renew his appointment following a restructuring which entailed the abolition of his post.
"[T]he question remains as to whether restructuring was the real reason for the decision not to renew the complainant's appointment. [...]
Although the record supports the Organization's assertion that a restructuring has occurred, it does not reflect that a decision to restructure and a decision regarding the abolition of specific posts had been taken [before] the complainant was informed that a recommendation to restructure had been approved and that new staffing requirements meant that his post and others would be abolished. [...]
[T]he decision not to renew the complainant's appointment must be set aside."
Keywords:
abolition of post; evidence; non-renewal of contract; project personnel; reorganisation;
Consideration 11
Extract:
"[T]he complainant contends that UNIDO's failure to conduct a performance appraisal before deciding not to renew his appointment constitutes a breach of procedure and a breach of his terms of employment as his letters of appointment stated that he would be evaluated on a yearly basis. [...] The defendant argues that since the non-renewal of the appointment was not based on performance, it is irrelevant whether a performance appraisal was or was not conducted. The Tribunal rejects this argument. UNIDO had a contractual obligation to conduct yearly performance appraisals. International organisations routinely require applicants for positions to provide at least their most recent performance appraisal from a prior employer. UNIDO's failure to provide the complainant with an appraisal has deprived him of the use of a critical tool in his search for future employment."
Keywords:
abolition of post; compensation; non-renewal of contract; performance report; project personnel; reorganisation; status of complainant;
Consideration 10
Extract:
"[T]he decision not to renew the complainant's appointment must be set aside. However, the evidence does indicate that restructuring was being contemplated and has in fact occurred. In these circumstances, reinstatement is not an appropriate remedy. Rather, the complainant is entitled to be paid the salary and other allowances he would have received had his appointment been renewed for six months, together with interest [...]."
Keywords:
abolition of post; compensation; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; project personnel; reinstatement; reorganisation;
Considerations 12 and 14
Extract:
"The complainant argues that the Organization breached its duty of care in failing to accommodate him in another post or in a manner less drastic than the non-renewal of his appointment. [...]
The Organization had no obligation under the 200 Series of the Staff Rules to find an alternative post for the complainant. However, it had a duty to explore with him possible options prior to his separation. The failure to do so was an affront to his dignity and showed a lack of respect for him as a highly regarded long-serving staff member."
Keywords:
abolition of post; compensation; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; project personnel; reassignment; reorganisation; respect for dignity; seniority; staff regulations and rules; status of complainant;
Judgment 2708
104th Session, 2008
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 10
Extract:
For the period 24 June 2002 to 31 December 2003 the complainant was given a fixed-term contract, financed from technical cooperation funds, which was extended until 30 June 2004. The complainant was subsequently given two external collaboration contracts, the second one ending on 31 March 2005. The contractual relationship between the complainant and the ILO ended at that date. "It emerges from an analysis of [the provisions of Circular No. 630] that short-term contracts should be offered in only specific cases and for a limited duration.
Having already obtained a fixed-term contract which had been extended, the complainant could not be recruited under a short-term contract, let alone under an external collaboration contract, to continue performing the same work as he had performed under his fixed-term contract, without contravening the spirit of the applicable texts.
The complainant's last two contracts should therefore be converted into a fixed-term contract."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ILO Circular No. 630
Keywords:
administrative instruction; amendment to the rules; breach; claim; condition; consequence; contract; duration of appointment; extension of contract; external collaborator; fixed-term; limits; period; project personnel; provision; separation from service; short-term; written rule;
Judgment 1938
88th Session, 2000
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 8
Extract:
The complainant worked continuously for the organization for 17 years under various short term contracts - including contractual service agreements - after his fixed-term appointment as a staff member expired. "In practice he is seeking to obtain a revision of the whole of his career from 1976 to 1996. But he himself accepted the contractual conditions offered to him. He did not challenge the decision taken in 1979 not to renew his fixed-term appointment and not to convert it into a permanent appointment. Moreover, he offers no legally valid argument to challenge the way he has been treated since 1979. His claims must therefore be dismissed [...]."
Keywords:
complainant; contract; duration of appointment; external collaborator; fixed-term; locus standi; project personnel;
Judgment 1793
86th Session, 1999
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
"Posts under field projects will as a rule fare as do the projects themselves. If the project is of limited duration, so too will be the post."
Keywords:
fixed-term; post; project personnel;
Judgment 1775
85th Session, 1998
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 10
Extract:
"Staff Rule 1050.2, which [the complainant] relies on, states that [the reduction-in-force procedure] applies only to a post of indefinite duration'. The post held by the complainant [...] was designated as a 'project post'. As Manual paragraph II.9.260 makes plain, the reduction-in-force procedure does not apply to posts of 'limited duration', a category which specifically includes country project posts."
Keywords:
criteria; enforcement; fixed-term; permanent appointment; post; project personnel; staff reduction; staff regulations and rules;
Judgment 1389
78th Session, 1995
Universal Postal Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 27
Extract:
"The international organisation is under no duty to insure its expert against any adverse effects on him that the national postal department may draw from conclusions about the nature of an accident that has befallen him while on mission for the organisation. So any claim that the expert may make that goes beyond those limits should be made to the national department, which will deal with it according to its own rules. Nor indeed may the Union or the Tribunal intervene in the area of the department's competence."
Keywords:
applicable law; competence of tribunal; domestic law; insurance; organisation's duties; professional accident; project personnel;
Judgment 1317
76th Session, 1994
International Telecommunication Union
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 20-21
Extract:
The ITU alleges that as a member of project personnel the complainant could not expect his appointment to be renewed after a restructuring exercise, unlike headquarters officials whose appointments were extended. "It is clear from the Staff Regulations and the relevant rules that the provisions on fixed-term appointments are in substance the same for both [headquarters and project personnel]. [...] The Union is mistaken in relying on [a rule] to rebut the complainant's charge of discrimination in favour of other staff".
Keywords:
contract; equal treatment; fixed-term; headquarters official; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract; project personnel; reorganisation; staff regulations and rules; status of complainant;
Judgment 901
64th Session, 1988
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 7
Extract:
The complainant was on mission when he was terminated as persona non grata. "There was no objective report on this case. [...] All this makes it plain that summary termination under 11.4 [of the Staff Regulations] was in breach of the complainant's right of reply and cannot stand."
Reference(s)
Organization rules reference: ARTICLE 11.4 OF THE ILO STAFF REGULATIONS
Keywords:
contract; field; fixed-term; flaw; persona non grata; procedural flaw; project personnel; right to reply; termination of employment;
Consideration 7
Extract:
"When an international official on mission shows professional shortcomings or fails in his duty of 'reserve' the government may of course ask the organisation to withdraw him. But termination is not the inevitable outcome. For one thing, so long as the contract is in force the Director-General does not have discretionary authority; for another, he may discuss the matter with the government [...] In any case even when the organisation acquiesces it need not terminate the appointment on that account."
Keywords:
consequence; discretion; duty of discretion; field; misconduct; organisation's duties; persona non grata; project personnel; termination of employment;
Judgment 870
63rd Session, 1987
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 5
Extract:
"It would be in breach of an official's rights as such and a denial of his entitlements under the procedure for personal promotion to discount any of his service, including periods he may have spent on secondment to technical assistance projects. But the complainant is in a quite different case since he was not yet an official when employed on such projects."
Keywords:
equal treatment; field; general principle; headquarters official; official; personal promotion; professional experience; project personnel; promotion; status of complainant;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"Such service [technical assistance] may not count for the purpose of personal promotion unless there is an express rule to that effect. There is not. [...] Periods of service [on technical co-operation projects] do not count, not even when, like the complainant, [experts] are later appointed to the staff at headquarters."
Keywords:
administrative instruction; difference; enforcement; field; headquarters official; interpretation; personal promotion; project personnel;
Judgment 515
49th Session, 1982
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Summary
Extract:
The complainant's appointment was terminated, and the rule concerning termination of limited duration posts, applied. The complainant contends that the rule for posts of indefinite duration should have been applied. The Tribunal held that posts attached to projects whose own duration is limited, are likewise of limited duration. The complainant's post came under such a project.
Keywords:
abolition of post; applicable law; contract; fixed-term; post; project personnel; termination of employment;
Judgment 495
48th Session, 1982
Pan American Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations 6 and 8
Extract:
The complainant worked "on different projects for which money had to be found in the annual budget. This could not always be done by a regular allocation. It might have to be done by what is referred to as 'creative budgeting', i.e. the use of savings made within the regular budget and supplemented perhaps by money procured from external sources, e.g. international foundations." It was decided to terminate the contract. "On the whole the Tribunal is not satisfied that funds were not or could not have been made available for some extension."
Keywords:
budgetary reasons; contract; fixed-term; judicial review; non-renewal of contract; project personnel;
Judgment 406
43rd Session, 1980
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
There is provision for the possibility of an extension and an expert, "whose assignment has run smoothly and for whom the circumstances show a continuing need, is entitled to expect that [...] an unprejudiced decision will be taken in the interests of the organisation. This does not mean that the organisation is required to justify a non-renewal as if it was an interference with a contractual right."
Keywords:
contract; fixed-term; legitimate expectation; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; organisation's interest; project personnel;
Judgment 388
43rd Session, 1980
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 6
Extract:
According to the FAO Manual, before terminating an expert's appointment the organization must make sure that it cannot find him other employment. The organization "must show the diligence which the circumstances of the case require." In this case, "it was dilatory", took "a hasty decision and one which had not been preceded by any prompt inquiries."
Keywords:
abolition of post; contract; organisation's duties; project personnel; reassignment;
Consideration 8
Extract:
The complainant lost his job by virtue of a provision concerning the abolition of posts. For reasons of his age, seniority, the expectation that he would soon retire and family responsibilities, "the complainant had a certain right to preference, even over more highly qualified candidates. That does not mean [...] that he should have been appointed in preference to any other candidate. [...] In putting him on the same footing as the others, the organization failed to take due account of all the relevant factors of his case."
Keywords:
abolition of post; contract; disregard of essential fact; organisation's duties; priority; project personnel; reassignment; termination of employment;
Consideration 4
Extract:
"The decision to abolish the complainant's post and create a new one was taken by [a national] government, which alone was competent to take it. It was not for the [organization] to impose such a decision and so interfere in the internal affairs of the [national] authorities. Nor is it established that it sought to influence those authorities. [...] It had no reason to oppose the wishes of the [...] government, which was free to decide what form assistance from international organisations should take."
Keywords:
abolition of post; competence; decision; member state; project personnel;
Judgment 260
35th Session, 1975
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
The applicable provision permits termination if the person concerned is unacceptable to the material government or if he is unsuitable for his post. The government did not declare that the person concerned was "persona non grata". A statement by a government official involved in the project was not sufficient; the complainant was not "unsuitable" simply because he was unacceptable to the material government official. The termination of the complainant's contract was unwarranted. The decision is quashed.
Keywords:
contract; enforcement; fixed-term; government approval; member state; persona non grata; project personnel; provision; qualifications; staff regulations and rules; termination of employment;
Judgment 192
29th Session, 1972
World Health Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 2
Extract:
The complainant had been admitted to hospital suffering from a nervous breakdown. "The Director-General did not [...] exceed his discretion in failing to inquire into the working conditions prevailing at the complainant's place of employment. Whether or not the complainant's criticisms are justified, the fact remains that he reacted to the alleged difficulties in an abnormal manner which gave plausibility to the possibility of a relapse and appeared to justify his termination under" the applicable provision.
Keywords:
discretion; executive head; health reasons; inquiry; investigation; probationary period; project personnel; qualifications; refusal; termination of employment; termination of employment for health reasons; working conditions;
Judgment 166
25th Session, 1970
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Considerations
Extract:
"With regard to the non-renewal of the complainant's contract, it is clear from [...] the evidence [...] that the measure in question was justified by the termination of the [mission] for which [the complainant] had been appointed, and by the exhaustion of the funds allocated to it, and also that the measure was of a general character which did not affect [the complainant] alone." There is no evidence of animosity or bias.
Keywords:
budgetary reasons; contract; fixed-term; non-renewal of contract; project personnel;
Judgment 157
24th Session, 1970
International Labour Organization
Extracts: EN,
FR
Full Judgment Text: EN,
FR
Consideration 1
Extract:
On return from a mission, the complainant was ill. The organisation extended his contract for as long as the sick leave to which he was entitled under his contract. With the expiry of that contract, there was no longer any legal connection between the official and the organisation, which "could no longer lawfully grant him further sick leave or continue to bear his medical expenses." The organisation was bound by no provision nor any general principle of law to grant the complainant monetary compensation.
Keywords:
contract; extension of contract; fixed-term; health insurance; illness; medical expenses; non-renewal of contract; organisation's duties; project personnel; service-incurred; sick leave;
